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Hmm. On the other hand, what does it say about the Obama campaign that he’s been getting pasted ever since Ohio and Texas? Indiana, where most Democratic voters are in the Chicago media market, was a big loss too. If Hillary’s campaign is dead, I’d say that Obama’s is limping badly.

Oh, I was just making a point. I think the primary process has made Hillary a better candidate, and made Obama a worse one (or exposed weaknesses; it’s hard to say which).

If the Democratic party were more rational, they would nominate Hillary – I think she would beat McCain fairly easily. Obama could actually limit the otherwise strong gains the Democrats will likely make down ticket, IMHO.

Brenda, McCain’s going to take those places anyway. There are other stats showing that large numbers of people wouldn’t vote for a woman, either.

Obama has a record. It’s not much of one. But it’s there. He also has a message that has stayed pretty consistent. He’s a flawed character, but no more so than Hillary or McCain. As for his qualifications… What are anybody’s? Hillary and McCain have both appealed to people’s fears of the unknown. So did Bush, and look what it got us. wtf were *his* qualifications?

Lately I’ve been looking down the list of issues and positions for each candidate, especially in two areas that I care about: public infrastructure and the Internet. (I hate the term “broadband policy”, because it’s so telco-ish, but it’ll do in this context.) Here’s what Obama says:

As our society becomes more mobile and interconnected, the need for 21st-century transportation networks has never been greater. However, too many of our nation’s railways, highways, bridges, airports, and neighborhood streets are slowly decaying due to lack of investment and strategic long-term planning. Barack Obama believes that America’s long-term competitiveness depends on the stability of our critical infrastructure. As president, Obama will make strengthening our transportation systems, including our roads and bridges, a top priority.

When I look at the Clinton and McCain sites, I see pandering and posturing all over the place.

When I look at the Obama site, I see a guy who doesn’t stand for the status quo, who wants to bridge partisan divides. I like that. Is there pandering and posturing? Yeah, some. But I get that the guy is tired of many of the same things I’m tired of. That gives me a small measure of hope. Not much, but some.

I get none from either of the other two. Best I can say is that any of them will be better than Bush. And will have a much harder job because of the damage done over the last eight years.

I am as strong a Democrat as they come, but I have serious reservations about voting for someone who has no record and no apparent qualifications to be President.

Well, Ms. Helverson, if you’re looking for someone who has experience as president, the only ones alive who aren’t constitutionally barred from running again are Jimmy Carter and George H. W. Bush.

If you’re looking for other executive experience, their presidential campaigns are the biggest organizations any of the big three has ever run.

Senator McCain ran out of money at a critical time, and had to be bailed out by his wife’s credit cards and corporate jet.

Senator Clinton has repeatedly run out of money at a critical time, and she’s loaned her campaign more money than she’s made in her entire life, and yet her best hope for getting the nomination lies in one of her snipers missing her as she races off the runway, and accidentally killing Senator Obama. She talks of 35 years experience, although few people ever noticed her efforts for the first half of those 35 years, and she’s spent the second half of those 35 years getting universal health care passed. Although she hasn’t quite accomplished that yet.

Senator Obama, on the other hand, has a remarkably well-running campaign. His success has mostly come about because his organization has been registering people who’ve not voted in the past, not because he’s offered bribes to people who have already decided to vote for a dishonest party hack rather than someone who threatens the status quo.

It sounds like he hasn’t had your vote – and that he doesn’t need it. The Democratic party, however, needs to start pursuing a 50-state policy for its long-term health. If you tell people that West Virginia citizens are important, but people in Wyoming and Nebraska and two dozen other red states don’t matter, it’s a sure thing that those red states are going to remain red.

Obama said “Just watch how my campaign will be managed.” in answer to someone questioning his leadership abilities. I was impressed, it’s an open honest statement and challenge, running a successful campaign for political office takes leadership.